Promoting Argumentation with the Zapworks Augmented Reality Tool. Designs of Educational Proposals by Preservice Science Teachers

This chapter describes a training experience with 57 preservice science teachers at the University of Málaga (Spain) oriented towards the educational possibilities of the Zapworks augmented reality tool to promote argumentation as a critical thinking skill in science education. The experience consisted of two two-hour sessions: the first focused on introducing preservice teachers to augmented reality using Zapworks, and the second on presenting their educational proposals designs. The data collection instrument was a report on their designs, which was analyzed to assess, on one hand, how preservice teachers handle the technical aspects of augmented reality scenarios, and on the other hand, to what extent these designs incorporate activities aimed at developing argumentation skills. The findings reveal that while preservice teachers are capable of creating augmented reality scenarios that incorporate various elements, they encounter significant challenges in designing activities that effectively involve argumentation. As an educational implication, it is recommended to offer training focused on analyzing argumentation activities, with an emphasis on the cognitive skills necessary to promote argumentation. The verbs suggested in the revised Bloom’s taxonomy may serve as useful tools in this context.